GABON

Gabonese Republic

République Gabonaise

CAPITAL
: Libreville

FLAG
: The flag is a tricolor of green, golden yellow, and royal blue
horizontal stripes.

ANTHEM
:
La Concorde (Harmony).

MONETARY UNIT
: The Communauté Financière Africaine franc (CFA Fr), which
was originally pegged to the French franc, has been pegged to the euro
since January 1999 with a rate of 655.957 CFA francs to 1 euro. The CFA
franc is issued in coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 500 CFA francs,
and notes of 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 CFA francs. CFA Fr1 =
$0.00167 (or $1 = CFA Fr597.577) as of May 2003.

LANGUAGES

French is the official language of the republic. The Fang language is
spoken in northern Gabon, and other Bantu languages (Myene,
Batéké, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi) are spoken elsewhere
in the country.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Gabon is divided into nine provinces, administered by governors, which
are subdivided into 37 prefectures, headed by prefects. There are eight
separate sub-prefectures, governed by subprefects. These officers are
directly responsible to the government at Libreville and are appointed
by the president. In some areas, the traditional chiefs still retain
power, but their position has grown less secure.

INSURANCE

In 1974, a national company known as SONAGAR was created, 36% owned by
the government. In 1986, there were four French insurance companies
represented in Gabon. As of 1995, at least ten insurance companies were
doing business in Gabon.